Apr12022

The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency participates in the third edition of the University of Valencia’s Master’s Degree in Public Procurement and Compliance

#TrainingAVAF

On March 31, 2022, the Agency participated in the teaching of the Master’s Degree in Public Procurement and Compliance of the University of Valencia, in its third edition. Master with a multidisciplinary approach in which, in addition to the Agency, different entities and universities collaborate.

The director of the Agency, Joan Llinares, gave the talk “The function performed by anti-fraud agencies in public procurement” during the last session of the program of this third edition of the Master.

The objective of this training activity has been to raise awareness of the importance of public integrity and ethics to reduce fraud and corruption, by participating in a Master’s Degree in which students are specializing in the different particularities of public procurement, both from private and public perspective. The attention of the Agency has focused attention on the knowledge about risk behaviors that may end up constituting a crime in the course of preparing the administrative file, the award or execution of a public contract.

The director of the AVAF, Joan Llinares, began by contextualizing the anti-corruption policies in the international changes since the 1990s, to follow the regulatory framework in relation to corruption and focus on the development of the functions and actions of the Agency, emphasizing the importance of prevention for good administration, as well as the independence of the Agency.

The final part of the conference focused on the main risks of fraud and corruption that can occur in public procurement, emphasizing situations of conflicts of interest, illustrating in his presentation examples of malpractice that have ended up in court and with convictions.

The director of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency ended his speech by thanking the invitation from the University of Valencia and the co-director of the Master, Ángeles Jareño, and wished the students much success in their professional future.

Apr12022

The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency carries out a training activity for the first time at the Universitat per a Majors de la UJI

#TrainingAVAF

On March 30, the AVAF was present, for the first time, at the Universitat per a Majors of the Universitat Jaume I of Castelló. This first training activity took place in the Seu del Nord de Vinaròs.

“The fight against corruption and the role of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency” was the title of the conference, given by Pilar Moreno, AVAF training technician.

After a brief introduction on the international context of corruption prevention, the representative of the Agency had the opportunity to convey the functions and work of the Agency in areas such as whistleblower protection and the analysis and investigation of fraud alerts.

The Universitat per Majors is a project of the Universitat Jaume I of Castellón to bring knowledge closer to society, with the aim of promoting permanent training throughout life.

 The participation of the Valencian Antifraud Agency in this session of the UJI Majors has been possible thanks to the collaborative relationship with the Universitat Jaume I, committed to the values ​​of ethics and good governance. The conference was held within the subject “Basic Notions of Local Law for Citizens” taught by university professor Jaime Clemente, belonging to the Observatory of Transparency and Good Governance of the UJI.

The session, in which the documentary “Corruption: Harmful Organism” was also viewed, was attended by nearly 20 people from the Universitat per a Majors. The figure of local government officials with national qualifications, as well as the regulation of gifts, were the aspects in which the UJI Majors students were most interested.

The AVAF, with this activity, continues to develop training activities with the aim of offering knowledge and raising awareness among citizens about the necessary culture of prevention and rejection of any conduct that encourages corruption.

Mar292022

The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency presents to Les Corts its Activity Report of the year 2021

Valencia, March 29,  2022.- The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency has presented to the Mesa de Les Corts its Activity Report corresponding to the year 2021, thus complying with the mandate contained in article 22 of Law 11/2016 on the creation of the Agency.

The award ceremony took place in the Pati de Les Corts and was attended by the President of Les Corts, Enric Morera, the members of the Table of Les Corts and a representation of the Ombudsmans.

On this occasion the Activity Report has been delivered through a QR code from which you can easily download the document. In this way, the AVAF contributes to the reduction of paper consumption and economic expenditure by adhering to the 2030 sustainability commitments.

The Report includes the activity carried out by the Agency in 2021 in the area of training, prevention and documentation; the legal and protection area of the complainant; analysis and research; administration, recruitment and human resources and communication.

After the act of delivery of the Report, the director of the AVAF, Joan Llinares, attended the media and highlighted some of the most relevant aspects included in the Report.

During 2021, the Agency has received 359 complaints, mainly through its Complaints Mailbox, which represents 58% more complaints compared to 2020. Since its creation in 2017, the Agency has opened a total of 969 investigation files.

A fact to highlight from the work carried out by the Agency is that it has determined that the amount recoverable by Valencian public institutions as a result of the investigations completed by the Agency in 2021 exceeds 23 million euros.

With regard to the training activity in 2021, the Agency has organized 43 training actions in which more than 1,800 people have participated, which has meant a considerable increase in relation to the 23 activities organized and the 827 people who participated in 2020.

It is also worth mentioning the elaboration during the year 2021 of a Guide along with various materials to help public institutions  develop their public integrity plans in accordance with the requirements of the Next Generation funds. The Agency also approved its Code of Ethics and Conduct and constituted its Ethics Committee.

The director of the Agency, Joan Llinares, has stated that “this Activity Report includes all the work done by the AVAF staff in their different areas during the year 2021, an especially significant year in which we have celebrated the 5th anniversary of the approval of the Law of creation of the Agency”.

“With the presentation of this Report to Les Corts, the Agency complies with this requirement and from this moment the document is available to all citizens on our website so that they can learn in more detail about the work we do in the fight against fraud and corruption and in the creation of ethics and public integrity,” added Llinares.